Updated July 28, 2024; details of disappearance updated.
Details of Disappearance
Jennifer and her daughter,
Adrianna Wix, were last seen together between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. on March 25, 2004. At the time of their disappearances, they lived with Jennifer's boyfriend, Joseph Benton Jr., and his parents.
On the day Jennifer disappeared, she called her aunt and said she didn't want to live with the Bentons anymore and that when she saw Benton later that day she was going to tell him she was moving out with her daughter. Jennifer told her aunt that if Benton "does not agree for us to leave", she would go to her aunt's house. The aunt left a spare key out for her in case she showed up, but she never did.
Benton initially stated Jennifer and Adrianna left home with an unknown individual. He later altered his story and said he and Jennifer had an argument and he dropped her and Adrianna off at an Exxon gas station near Exit 112 off Interstate 65 in Cross Plains, Tennessee. After five to ten minutes, he said, Adrianna and Jennifer got into a white four-door early 1990s model mid-size car, at a gas station near Exit 112 off Interstate 65 in Cross Plains, Tennessee.
Benton stated Jennifer went to their home, without Adrianna, the next afternoon, March 26. She was driving the car she'd gotten into the previous day. She collected her belongings and said she needed some time away. She asked for her income tax return, but Benton's parents were not at home to give her the money, so she left and said she would come back for it. She never did.
Authorities have not been able to verify Benton's story about leaving Adrianna and Jennifer at the gas station, or the story about Jennifer coming back to his house the next day.
In March 2024, twenty years to the day that Jennifer and Adrianna were reported missing, authorities executed a search warrant on the Benton home. A twenty-year-old image of a child in the family engaging in sexual activity was located during the search, along with explosives and weapons.
As a result, Benton's father, Joseph Benton Sr., was charged with unlawful possession of dozens of weapons, explosives and sexual exploitation of a minor. As a convicted felon, he is not permitted to possess weapons. This is unrelated to the Wix disappearances, but Jennifer and Adrianna's family hopes it will lead to a break in the case.
Jennifer and Adrianna have never been heard from again. They are believed to be in danger, as it is uncharacteristic of Jennifer to be out of touch with her family. Their cases remain unsolved and in 2013 they were reclassified as homicides.
www.nbcnews.com
21-year-old Jennifer Wix and her 2-year-old daughter, Adrianna, were last seen by their family on March 25, 2004, in Robertson County.
